I just wanted to have a nice GUI on a test environment, so without getting 200 megabytes for xubuntu-desktop or 524 megabytes for ubuntu-desktop, I simply installed the following:


apt-get install xserver-xorg
apt-get install xfce4


with these packages – only about 40 megabytes to download – you’ll have a clean and working desktop.
I found some errors, possibly because I previously installed X.org, that I needed to

ln /usr/X11/Xorg -> /etc/X11/X

first, then

sudo Xorg -configure

to let it happen:)

NOTE: *make sure to have a mouse and a keyboard attached* or this setup will be broken.
Of course, you can enter

Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "1"

into your xorg.conf > Section “ServerLayout”

If you too configure it via ssh and start X by error, and see the .XAthority file locked error, type:

xauth -b quit